Fuel Mileage: My Experience

[Wudscrasher]

(EDIT: Fixified! Sort of)

This should be a Poll.

Owning my '00 220 for over a year now, I've always wondered what my mileage was. Now, I know from experience that certain riding conditions and other factors affect how well your MPG is. The thing is, how many of us actually come back from a day's ride, after topping off, then drain the tank to see? Well, I did just that 2 weeks ago riding in the San Rafael Swell, Utah.


The results were very surprising:

First, Mods:
FMF Woods Pipe (I know, JF said don't get it for the 220, but I need it)
FMF TC II "Q"
VF3 Reed Cage
Stock Carb
Snorkel gone, 4 - 3/4" holes in airbox
TwinAir Filter
145 Main, 42 Pilot, R1174L Needle 3rd position from top low elev, (4-6K')
Sparky: BR8ES
Pre-Mix: 40:1, 93 octane w/Silkolene ProComp 2+


85 miles total
35 miles dirt road (WFO)
20 miles ATV-Width trail (2-4th gear)
20 miles deep sand-wash (4-6th gear, rear tire: 60 mph, your speed: 35mph)
10 miles Rocky Singletrack/ATV (1-4th gear)



So, what I had was a great mix of terrain in which to see just what my 220 was capable of, mileage-wise. I had an MSR 30 oz bottle, which I topped off 30 miles in. So, the numbers:

2.9 Gal Tank = 371.2 oz
Add 30 oz = 401.2 oz
Gas Used? = 255.2 oz
Gas Left? = 146.0 oz
GAL Used = 1.99375 (OK, 2 gallons)
Miles = 85

Miles/Gallon? = 85 / 2 = 42.5 MPG



A friend I rode the Swell with (he even has a trail named after him, the VJ Trail) said I must have been jetted "Spot-On" to get that kind of mileage out there. He thought I'd get 60 miles total. I like to think I DO have my bike jetted correctly. So, apparently, jet your bike for the conditions, and don't let your friends tell you, "You won't make a 90-mile ride on a 3-Gallon tank with a 2-smoke!", because you can always amaze people with a KDX. I did. There were 3 KTMs that would not have made it the 85 miles without a gas-stash.

The more I ride, and own, this bike, the more I fall in love with it.

-- C.J.

Cost of bike: $1700
Fun Parts: $1300
Total for KDX: $3000
Miles on a 2.9 Gallon Tank?: ~120-130 !



Comperable STOCK KTM 2s: ~$7000 New
Parts: (What? They don't come with a head/taillight and USFS Spark Arrestor?!?!?!) Dump more $$$ into an already 7K bike
Smugness Factor: 10 !

Blazing by an $8,000 KTM on your 3K-Total KayDeeEx ???

PRICELESS !!!

[thebleakness]

I did something similar this weekend. I rode around the San Fransisco Peaks in roughly 5 hours (breaks of course) and roughly 80 miles. We stopped and refueled little over half way through our journey (a friend of ours went out earlier and hid some fuel for us). The leader on his 2006 KTM 400exc didn't need fuel and determined that he was getting around 70miles per gallon with it. My friend on her 06 YZ125 had about 1/2 of her 3.2gal tank left, another friend with a brand new Sherco 5.1 was running close to reserve and I was down to 1/2 - 1/3 of a tank. My bike isn't jetted correctly, we were riding at over 8k feet elevation and all slower speed tight singletrack. I guess I could have saved more fuel had I wanted too but my buddy on the YZ125 and I were racing and we had them rapped out for most of the day trying to out do the other.

I was very impressed with the mileage the 400EXC gets, of course it was also ridden by an older gentleman at lower RPMs. What a fun ride...

[KDXer]

>|QBB<[/url]

(Forward: How do I get these pictures to show up??? They're in my Gallery!)

This should be a Poll.

Owning my '00 220 for over a year now, I've always wondered what my mileage was. Now, I know from experience that certain riding conditions and other factors affect how well your MPG is. The thing is, how many of us actually come back from a day's ride, after topping off, then drain the tank to see? Well, I did just that 2 weeks ago riding in the San Rafael Swell, Utah.



The results were very surprising:

First, Mods:
FMF Woods Pipe (I know, JF said don't get it for the 220, but I need it)
FMF TC II "Q"
VF3 Reed Cage
Stock Carb
Snorkel gone, 4 - 3/4" holes in airbox
TwinAir Filter
145 Main, 42 Pilot, R1174L Needle 3rd position from top low elev, (4-6K')
Sparky: BR8ES
Pre-Mix: 40:1, 93 octane w/Silkolene ProComp 2+


85 miles total
35 miles dirt road (WFO)
20 miles ATV-Width trail (2-4th gear)
20 miles deep sand-wash (4-6th gear, rear tire: 60 mph, your speed: 35mph)
10 miles Rocky Singletrack/ATV (1-4th gear)



So, what I had was a great mix of terrain in which to see just what my 220 was capable of, mileage-wise. I had an MSR 30 oz bottle, which I topped off 30 miles in. So, the numbers:

2.9 Gal Tank = 371.2 oz
Add 30 oz = 401.2 oz
Gas Used? = 255.2 oz
Gas Left? = 146.0 oz
GAL Used = 1.99375 (OK, 2 gallons)
Miles = 85

Miles/Gallon? = 85 / 2 = 42.5 MPG



A friend I rode the Swell with (he even has a trail named after him, the VJ Trail) said I must have been jetted "Spot-On" to get that kind of mileage out there. He thought I'd get 60 miles total. I like to think I DO have my bike jetted correctly. So, apparently, jet your bike for the conditions, and don't let your friends tell you, "You won't make a 90-mile ride on a 3-Gallon tank with a 2-smoke!", because you can always amaze people with a KDX. I did. There were 3 KTMs that would not have made it the 85 miles without a gas-stash.

The more I ride, and own, this bike, the more I fall in love with it.

-- C.J.

Cost of bike: $1700
Fun Parts: $1300
Total for KDX: $3000
Miles on a 2.9 Gallon Tank?: ~120-130 !



Comperable STOCK KTM 2s: ~$7000 New
Parts: (What? They don't come with a head/taillight and USFS Spark Arrestor?!?!?!) Dump more $$$ into an already 7K bike
Smugness Factor: 10 !

Blazing by an $8,000 KTM on your 3K-Total KayDeeEx ???

PRICELESS !!!

[KDXer]

>|QBB<[/url]

(Forward: How do I get these pictures to show up??? They're in my Gallery!)

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[Wudscrasher]

Thanks for the picture help, KDXer!

[KDXer]

No problem, did you work it out ??

[AZRickD]

I usually hit reserve on my 2.9 gallon tank at around 50 miles.

I've used the Vapor computer and refills to rough out my mileage a few times. Single-track + 17mph. Wide-open stuff, maybe 25 mpg.

Mods on 220= everything.
Jetting, average is 150/38/CEK-3

Rick

[kawagumby]

I can get just under 2 hours with my bike. I also figure about 50 miles or so with me doing a lot of throttle work on mostly single track.

Rick, I noticed you're running a 150 main... do you have a bored out carb?
I'm going to try a 140 tomorrow on my stock bore, I've been running a 142 but things are heating up around here....so I think it can handle the smaller jet.

Big difference between our bikes main-jetting-wise....

Wudscrasher,
At 4-6K altitude my bike runs ugly fat on the main even with a 142. Needle at center is fine, stock pilot is OK too. Bet you can downsize.

[Wudscrasher]

I usually hit reserve on my 2.9 gallon tank at around 50 miles.

Rick

Really?!?!

I know I was riding mostly high-speed stuff in Utah, but I know for sure that on a 65-miler in Idaho last year on tight, rocky singletrack, I was probably 15 miles from reserve. You guys are running pretty big main jets. I wonder if that is making the MPG suffer. Kawagumby, I'm jetted dead-nuts perfect; plug is 10 months old-still nice, no sputter/stutter-nothing; I'm getting phenominal MPG. The only change I'll make is to raise the needle one notch for higher elevations (go richer at higher elevs). Take note of the needle I'm running - not the stock one. My setup is tuned by guys who've ridden KDX's for over 20 years here in Colorado. They know what they're talking about. I had overheating problems last year after installing the Devol Rad guards. It wasn't jetting that was the problem, I just needed to Zip-Tie the plastic air-deflectors back on. In hot, dusty Utah, my Vapor read a high temp of 222°F on the Red trail only. Ave engine temp was 180° or so. Amazing what those simple plastic deflectors do for rads!

My post really was to find out what everyone's mileage was. I'll post a specific topic to see. Hey, 40 MPG for me is friggin' awesome!

-- C.J.

[Indawoods]

That's a Kaw spec needle... usually the first carb mod from stock. It does work better than the 1173 with a pipe.....

[kawagumby]

Higher altitude = leaner jet settings, so you would drop the needle to adjust.

You probably know this, but for open conversation purposes, the mainjet pretty much only comes into partial play at about 1/2 throttle opening and is fully engaged at full throttle, so even if you are riding at higher speeds, if your throttle opening usually at half or less (pretty common on longer fireroad rides), you are not utilizing the mainjet much - your plug readings will not indicate mainjet issues, but rather the effects of the other elements of carb circuitry (needle jet, needle, pilot, etc.) that are more often engaged at those throttle settings.
When riding technical single track "aggressively" (what the KDX is superbly designed for IMO ) you are much more likely to be "on the gas" and well beyond that 1/2 throttle position more of the time as compared to most touring-type fireroad rides. A technical ST trail is an endless stop and go scenario, gas it hard, brake it hard, turns, over and over again - all those changes of both bike and internal momentum take a lot of energy and a lot of fuel (and brake pads too, LOL.)
So, I guess it makes sense to me that KDX mileage will vary wildly depending on a lot of factors, the greatest one being the kind of use/abuse to which the bike is put.

[AZRickD]

As stated, I have all the mods including squish and R-B-carby (maybe I should put that in my sig line).

My mileage is very repeatable. What surprised me is that on a steady diet of high-gear roads (jeep or interstate), I'm not very deep into the 20s.

And I hardly got no spoo

Rick
"Not jetting for spoo"

[krazyinski]

I usually hit reserve on my 2.9 gallon tank at around 50 miles.

I've used the Vapor computer and refills to rough out my mileage a few times. Single-track + 17mph. Wide-open stuff, maybe 25 mpg.

Mods on 220= everything.
Jetting, average is 150/38/CEK-3

Rick

That sounds right Rick, oh Wudscrasher is not running at full power. I get 45 till I hit reserve like clock work. thats on a 00 220 with ported cylinder, milled head, carb bored from 33mm to 36mm FMF desert pipe. 158 main, dem needle-2, 45 pilot. any smaller main and it falls off or flattens out on the top. not any where close to a stock bike. performance always trumps mileage.

[2001kdx]

All this crazy mileage Talk has had me thiniking - I haven't assesed my jetting in a while, and I'm getting nowhere near 80 miles to a tank. I do however ride half 4-6 gear fields and half 1-3 gear mud doubletrack. What do you guys think of this for a 200?
450ft avg. elevation
70-85 degrees
Fmf REV, Q silencer, boyesen power reeds, 150/42/DEL-3

I haven't played with the clip on the DEL yet, but I've seen a lot of you go to 4th, why?

Is the 40PJ really gonna help me out?